of space shots. some missions ended in disaster and the world freaked out. 3 astronauts dead. 7 astronauts dead. etc. i could never muster much saddness, tho. i could not understand -- a handful of astronauts. people who willingly enclose themselves in a metal tube and explode themselves into space...and then to FALL back down. they were heros when they began their journey. upon their death? still heros. they deserve every bit of recognition the world can give them when tragedy strikes -- but it's still just a few people who were passionate about a seriously dangerous job. what a way to go. but those are BIG headlines. big explosions. lost in space. etc.

the idiot box in our living rooms dramatically messes with our senses. it shows us what it wants us to see and lets us know how we are to think about it. when we are supposed to cry and when we are to turn our backs and not care.

right now, we aren't supposed to care about iraqis and american soldiers who are being fried with depleted uranium and it's wafting over us every four days. that's too complex. too insidious. you can't get any good footage of cancer. we aren't supposed to care about iraqi families wiped out in urban warfare -- b/c they are "insurgents." the tv tells us so. the ones who die -- they are the bad ones. you can tell b/c they are dead, i suppose.

for people who care about a decent, sane world to live in -- these are challenging times. where do you grab on to for solidity? what the hell is left that isn't spun to oblivion like so much cotton candy? the fundies carry on about "moral relativism." if this were a xtian country there would still be moral relativism -- just theirs. everything is relative by definition. as soon as someone -- anyone -- puts their mind to a question, it becomes relative. so our hearts go out to the londoners today. but that mean that we abandon our larger mission -- to put the brakes on the policies that break hearts with and without headlines.

"the idiot box in our living rooms dramatically messes with our senses. it shows us what it wants us to see and lets us know how we are to think about it. when we are supposed to cry and when we are to turn our backs and not care."

Exactly. Yet I think it's even worse than that. By now, people already know how they're supposed to feel before they even turn on the TV. The "Euro-centric" tendency is already there, so it doesn't take much for the media to affirm and perpetuate it.

I agree with your assessment. It's a dangerous job, they chose the profession, and space exploration will not be without occasional tragedies. We heard so much in the media, people were actually afraid Kennedy would be closed.

During the Vietnam war, as well as the first Gulf War, the combat was brought to our living rooms on the evening news. The mere fact that we don't see that type of reporting tells me there is much to hide in the POV of "those who control the media".

If it's not one one of the "big 3" networks, a huge number of people will not believe it.

19. i began publishing a newspaper in 1991, after gulf war 1 --- does anyone

remember the outrage how the news was managed? it was unheard of back then. tons of ink were spilled on the lack of ability to get into the action. to get video out. to know and tell the story. it was outrageous.

FF to gulf war 2 -- embedded journalists? no prob. reprinting press releases? no prob? when only 10 years prior it was unthinkable, yet becoming reality.

we have become something very different from what we were during the vietnam war. hard to believe, but in the mainstream, there was much more critical thinking and reporting.

we have devolved.

on the bright side, and there really is one -- there's US here. there's a plethora of small outlets that are making news. it's become DECENTRALIZED. and that's part of the growth process. i can't wait to see what happens next. (i guess that's why i spend so much time here... it's like a spy book with no end that i can't put down.)

and an extra thanks for bringing up the fact that the Iraqis and our soldiers are both getting fried from depleted uranium. For me that is the one horror above all else for which these bastards MUST be stopped! (and a big thank you for the reality check as well ck4829)

20. DU bullets are manufactured in the hills of my adopted home: east tn

jonesborough to be exact. for years i've followed this story. i know people with all sorts of weird cancers who either worked at aerojet or live close to it. but there's SO MUCH crazy shit in the mountains up there, aerojet gets lost in the shuffle.

I have been compiling info on this topic for the past 3 months now. I am no doctor or physicist, just an "aging liberal hippy douche" (a phrase from "South Park"). I would like to add anything you may wish to contribute to my files. I check my inbox often. thanx

For they are just a bunch of "terrorists" and "towel heads". They are "backwards and barbaric" and need us to teach them how to live under democracy. They are unimportant because they are "fundamentalist extremists". So who cares if a bomb (or two, five or a dozen) falls there today? Who cares if the blast kills some insurgents, a family with three children--or an entire village?

...and the MSM will be swooning over the manly response the chattering chimp did not give to the world. His speech today was typical...everything, even the attacks in London, relate to HIM. The world revolves around HIM. Even before he was selected by the SCOTUS, he was plotting and dreaming about invading Iraq.

Now, Osama or another terrorist organization has struck the heart of Great Britain. This should prove that Bush and Blair have been wrong about invading Iraq, and letting Osama bin Ladin go free.

Bush, however, will parrot his ridiculous and stale "resolve" and "fight them over there, so that we don't have to fight them here", when it is clear that there is no place safe. The dangers facing us have been magnified many times over by his stubborn refusal to face up to reality.

When the man who is supposed to be the leader of the free world is a sociopath, a liar, and a corrupt, inept , arrogant man who would kill us all rather than concede that he was wrong, the world will suffer.

My heart goes out to the people of GB, who have shown amazing strength and courage for hundreds of years. I note, too,that the vast majority of the British were against this sham of a war, yet are displaying grace under fire, courage where the Chimp would be cowering in a corner, begging for Mama Karen or Condi to please change his diaper.

Until Bush and Blair realize that a global "War on Terror:" is un winnable, such attacks will continue anyplace on earth. There are images burned into my soul...the little girl, shocked and grieving, covered with her parent's blood...men, tears in their eyes, gently cradling their precious children, "collateral damage", as they try in vain to find medical help to keep them alive.

The rich and the powerful play their foul games with our lives and hearts and souls. I say that enough is enough, and was too much a long time ago. We need to leave Iraq, like now, and resume the search for Osama.

If this means stepping on Saudi toes, so be it. I am sick of the lies, the distortions, and the price that the ordinary of us are paying for the desires of the few. My sympathies to the people of London, the innocent of Iraq, and the American troops caught up in this whole Godforsaken mess.

Dubya will surely go down as the worst president ever, and the most hated of all men by the time this is over. God, what a monumental fuck-up.

was responsible for killing members of my family and stealing my peoples mineral wealth while occupying this nation (the USA) you can bet that I would feel encouraged to "respond in kind" using whatever means were at my disposal.

The foriegn policy of the bushtapo and the neo-cons is the greatest source of terrorism in the world today.

What is a rare horror for people here and in Europe is an everyday occurence right now for the people of Iraq. I feel bad for the loss of all life, but I don't think the lives of Iraqis are less valuable than any other lives.

This is important to remember when such a tragedy happens in a Western country.

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators

Important Notices: By participating on this discussion
board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules
page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the
opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent
the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.